Shepherd’s Pie For Dinner

The one-pot meal is something I love preparing because I think somehow it makes me feel as though I’m doing less work. My affinity for these kinds of meals has caused me to get more and more creative about dinnertime solutions for our family.

Unfortunately, I am known for waiting until the last minute to start dinner, but it’s in these crunch times that I seem to come up with some of the more delicious things we’ve eaten over the last few years.

This shepherd’s pie recipe is actually a great meal to make that will stretch out over more than one meal. Total cost for preparation of this meal was about $11.00 and it made three meals for us, which is three people – me, my husband, and my son. That works out to $3.66 per meal per person. Not bad! For a breakdown of more frugal meals, read this post about nourishing meals for less.

I love shepherd’s pie and I’ve been making it for years. But somehow the version I made this last week was especially comforting, full of flavor, and special. I changed things up a bit from how I normally make them. I almost always add a bit of cheese on top to bake over the last 20 minutes of cooking, but this time I added two kinds of cheese and spread it very thick over the top of the potatoes. And I also added in some other seasonings I haven’t used in the past.

Here’s the preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You will need the following kitchen equipment:

9 x 12 baking dish

frying pan – we use stainless steel or cast iron

small or medium-sized pot for potatoes

wooden spoon or spatula

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (you can also mix in this some ground lamb or ground pork, which I’ve heard is really delicious)

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, or potato of your choice (use more if you want your potatoes thicker on top)

2 stalks of celery

2 medium-sized carrots

1 cup of frozen or fresh green beans

1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

Diced onions (I used about 1/2 of a large onion, use to your preference)

cheese of your choice – I used raw Monterey Jack and Asiago, about 1 1/2 cups, more if desired

a splash of milk or buttermilk – I used raw buttermilk

butter – used liberally, I used about 5 tablespoons

rosemary – dried and chopped or minced, 1/2 tsp.

sage – 1 tsp.

marjoram 1 tsp.

parsley 1 tsp.

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Shred the cheese and put in a small bowl, and dice up the vegetables – carrots, celery, and onions, and set aside.

Brown ground beef and/or other meats in a pan with onions, celery, and carrots. You don’t have to cook the meat completely because it will be baked in the oven later. While browning, add rosemary, parsley, marjoram, sage, salt and pepper.

While your meat is browning, wash and dice up the potatoes. Place them into a pot to boil and then simmer until soft – about 20 minutes. When soft, drain water out of pan and return pot to stove or counter to mix in milk or buttermilk, butter, salt and pepper. If desired, you can add some extra shredded or diced cheese to the potatoes. I always add cheese to mine because it is so delicious.

Mix and mash all ingredients well with a potato masher. If the meat is not yet cooked, leave potatoes covered on stove on low heat until done.

When meat is finished, start layering by spooning meat/onions/carrots/celery mixture into a baking dish.

Add green beans and peas on top of meat mixture.

With spatula or wooden spoon, smooth on top of meat/vegetables a third layer of the mashed potatoes.

Place your dish inside the oven and put on the timer for at least 30 minutes.

Add shredded cheese to the oven dish for the last 15 – 20 minutes or so of baking. Check the dish after about 20 minutes to see how things are going, and then add the cheese.

After you take the dish out of the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving

Wardeh – thanks for tagging me on Facebook! I am actually thinking about how good this dish is, even though I am making something really delicious tonight too…chorizo and chicken with basil cream sauce and vegetables. I hope the shepherd’s pie is fabulous! I love how this recipe can last through at least two or three meals if you make it in the big 9 x 12″ pan. It tastes even better the next day! Blessings to you!